Station's Expansion Nears Completion

SMITHFIELD — Sitting inside the restaurant at Smithfield Station, 62-year-old Ron Pack says, with a big smile, "I've got a great story for you."

After cataract surgery a few years ago, he asked the doctor what percentage of his patients experienced problems. About 5 percent, the doctor replied.

Pack, re-telling the story Monday, says, "I told him, 'You're lucky you're not in the restaurant business! If five out of 100 of my customers were unhappy here, I'd be out.'"

Since 1986, he has been president of Smithfield Station, which includes a marina, hotel and restaurant. Last year, revenue was about $3 million. The property is going through an expansion right now that, once complete next month, doubles the number of hotel rooms available at Smithfield Station and brings retail shops to the compound.

Pack says that quality of customer service has been an important part of the company's success. At the restaurant, for example, the challenge is to create dishes that meet diners' expectations, each and every visit.

"Consistency is what it's all about -- good food and good service," says Randy Pack, 30, the oldest of three children that Ron and Tina Pack have. He and his brother, 28-year-old Brian Pack, both work for their dad as vice presidents in the company; their sister, who lives in Richmond, does not.

Tina "fills in for everything," Ron says. Right now, her main focus is interior design for the 22 new hotel rooms that are scheduled to open in August; she picked out the furniture that will go in each of the rooms.

The expansion that is now under way at Smithfield Station is the second. Ron and Tina bought the land, on South Church Street in Smithfield, for about $84,000 in 1983 and three years later opened the marina, hotel and restaurant, which cost about $2 million. In the mid-1990s, they added a lighthouse and cottages, increasing the number of rooms available from the original 15 to 22 total.

Talk of a second expansion began more than a decade ago. Construction began two years ago; the marina was built first and opened during Memorial Day weekend last year. Now, there are nearly 100 marina slips available at Smithfield Station. Three of the seven retail spaces are occupied and open.

Each of the 22 hotel rooms in the newest section of Smithfield Station faces the water, has a flat-screen TV and an electric fireplace. They will go for about $200 a night. (The older hotel rooms range in price from $99 to $250 for the honeymoon suite at the lighthouse.)

In building the additions, the Packs are using knowledge they've learned from past mistakes they've made or problems they've faced.

And it's no accident that they've decided to expand the marina and hotel instead of the restaurant.

The restaurant has higher overhead costs and is more labor-intensive than the other two operations.

"You expand in areas that you can keep the money," Ron says, explaining that when a customer spends $100 at the hotel or marina, he gets to keep most of it. But a $100 meal does not yield much profit for him.

But as more people visit Smithfield Station, either for the marina or the hotel, they dine at the restaurant, where sales have been going up.

That's why Ron still considers the restaurant the core of his business.

The restaurant is not the "latest, hottest, coolest place to go," Ron says. The restaurant just serves "basic regular food" consistently and in decent portions -- and a lot of iced tea (the place spends $15,000 a year on lemons).

As Smithfield Station expands, one of the challenges Ron says he faces is hiring a good staff.

It's always difficult to find hard working and honest people, he says, which is why it's helpful to have his sons work for him.

About a decade ago, Ron put Smithfield Station up for sale, even though he says he hated to have put so much time into it and sell it to someone else.

That's when Randy and Brian first considered working for their father; in 2000, Randy came on board and Brian followed two years later.

Randy and Brian say that working for a family venture isn't easy.

"People think you're going to go golfing on a weekday," Randy says, laughing. "Be prepared to work because when it fails, you still have to pay the loans." *

Smithfield Station

415 South Church St. Smithfield, VA 23430 (757) 357-770

www.smithfield station.com

Lessons learned

* Be consistent. Provide the same level of high-quality product or service time and time again.